Announcing Joy
by Doc Lee
Summary: How Kate tells her loved ones about a serious reveal. Fluff galore, reviews welcome and I hope you enjoy


Ladies & Gentlemen, a health warning for you all before you continue. This fic will result in fluffiness of insane levels. If the levels haven't dropped in a few hours then I suggest contacting your doctor.

This is just a very fluffy one shot plot device that suddenly hit me last night. Near future fic. Enjoy :)

DISCLAIMER - the people that own Castle are the people that own Castle. I am not one of those people

* * *

Alexis Castle sat in the booth at the back of the Old Haunt, a now empty milkshake glass before her. Nervously she tapped her fingers on the table and tried to occupy her mind with some angry birds on her iPhone. The sudden call from her Stepmom had surprised her as she'd left her last lecture of the day, Kate's voice sounding different while asking if she'd meet her somewhere.

'Hey,' Alexis jumped when Kate's quiet voice spoke beside her, the bright green iPhone clattering onto the booth table, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.'

'Scare me Kate?' Alexis blurted, 'You've had me freaking terrified! You suddenly call me in the middle of the day sounds like you've been crying and you're all but begging me to meet you somewhere quiet!'

'Shit,' Kate winced, scrunching her overly pale face up momentarily, 'I... I have to tell you something major.'

'Are you ill?' Alexis started to freak out, her eyes filling with tears, 'is that why you've been puking all the time?'

'Close your eyes,' Kate spoke softly. Seeing the terror and confusion in Alexis' ice blue eyes, Kate reached out and grabbed her hand, shock hitting her when Alexis' hands gripped hers like a vice, 'Please Alexis.'

Kate watched the redhead close her eyes and poked her tongue out to make sure she wasn't faking. With her free hand she plucked the item she wanted out of her jacket pocket and placed it before Alexis.

'Open your eyes Lex,' Kate held her breath in anticipation of the response the object between them could cause from Alexis. She smirked when Alexis inched one eyes open and stared at Kate before she opened the other eye. Her vice grip on Kate's hand tightened as she turned her gaze to the object before her.

'ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?' Alexis' screech had the entire bar turning to the booth and the almost vibrating redhead, 'Kate! Seriously? No!... Really?'

'Yeah,' Kate felt the tension in her shoulders melt away at the sheer unbridled glee on Alexis' face, 'I know that 21 is a bit old to be a big sister...'

'Shut the front door!' Alexis grabbed the ultrasound image off the table, 'Really?! Have you told dad?'

'He's in meetings with Black Pawn all day,' Kate grumbled, 'Only my father and you know about the baby.'

'Oh God!' Alexis nigh on threw herself over the table to give Kate an enthusiastic hug, 'I can't believe it!'

'Neither can I!' Kate sniffled, her tears of joy and relief running down her cheeks.

'Wait... You haven't told Lanie?' Alexis suddenly blurted, pulling back to stare at Kate's face, 'You've told me before her?'

'She's not going to be a big sister Lex,' Kate slid along the bench to allow Alexis to sit next to her, neither women wanting to end the hug just yet, 'Are you really okay with this?'

'Kate!' Alexis rolled her eyes, 'I told you already that you having a baby with my dad isn't going to have me freaking out about being left alone. I'm freaking out right now, but in such a good way!'

'I mean,' Alexis was literally bouncing in her seat, 'We can go clothes shopping for you and the baby, I can help make up the nursery, I can...' Alexis let out a squeal of joy.

'Thank you Lex,' Kate managed to press her lips against Alexis' head, the red blur pausing just long enough for her to strike, 'You've said the things I needed to hear.'

'Good,' Alexis reached over and grabbed her bag, 'Come on, we need to go see Lanie!'

* * *

'Girl!' Lanie smirked at Kate, over the file she was reading, her eyes flicking to the bouncing Alexis behind her, 'I've told you to cut her sugar intake down three or four notches too many times already.'

'Put the file down Lanie,' Kate grinned, Alexis' giggles behind her warming her heart.

'What's going on Kate?' Lanie dropped the files to the empty slab before her, narrowing her eyes at the twin looks of mischief before her, 'you're not going to whip out NERF guns again? I found a dart in Mr Johnson three days after you ambushed me last time!'

'Oops,' Kate giggled, 'Do you trust me Lanie?'

'No,' Alexis burst out laughing at Lanie's instant reply.

'Just tell me what's going on Kate!' Lanie glared. Kate huffed, a wide grin splitting her face when Lanie eventually closed her eyes. Placing the small square of paper on the slab, Kate felt Alexis grip her arm.

'Open your eyes.'

'What are you two playing...' Lanie glanced down at the small piece of paper before her. Blinking slowly, she stared silently.

'Lanie?' Kate frowned, her friend's silence not being the reaction she was expecting.

'Is this a joke?' Lanie turned disbelieving eyes to the duo before her, waving the image at them.

'No,' Alexis shook her head, her smile beaming.

Lanie blinked, then blinked again before letting out a scream that came close to waking up the entire morgue, 'CASTLE BABIES!' Skidding around the table, Lanie threw herself at Kate, hugging her tightly.

A sudden crash from the other side of the room had the three women jumping, Kate's hand instinctively reaching for her gun, only to find Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan standing with their guns drawn, confused faces scanning the room.

'JAVI!' Lanie almost skipped across the room, waving the paper in the air, 'CASTLE BABIES!'

'Huh?' Javi frowned, barely able to holster his weapon before Lanie had thrown herself at him, 'what the hell?'

'Castle freaking babies!' Lanie repeated herself, Ryan snatching the ultrasound out of her hand as she spun her boyfriend round. He twisted the image around and frowned.

Kate laughed at his face when he realised what he was holding, his eyes nearly falling out his head. Nodding when he turned to her, she gave a watery laugh when he strode across the morgue and hugged her gently.

'Congratulations Kate!' Ryan's mind remembering back to when Jenny told him she was pregnant, 'Rick must be on cloud nine right now!'

'He doesn't know yet,' Kate smirked, 'He's locked in Black Pawn meetings all day. Only my father and those in this room know right now.'

'Becks?' Javi had managed to clamber away from Lanie, the woman standing behind the group with the biggest smile Kate thought she'd ever seen on her face. The retire Marine sniper took the image from Ryan, his face melting as he studied it, 'Really?'

'Yeah Javi,' Kate felt her eyes water at the sight of his filling up, 'Really.'

'Congratulations Kate!' Javi threw his arms around Kate and Ryan, the team's original trio standing quietly against each other.

* * *

'Darlings!' Martha Rogers breezed into the loft in typical dramatic fashion, dropping her shopping bags by the door and turning to where Kate and Alexis were curled up on the sofa, 'I was not expecting to find either of you two here. I trust that everything is peachy with you both?'

'Sit down Grams,' Alexis sat up, shifting away from Kate to create a space for the matriarch of the family.

'Well that's a reassuring answer if I ever heard one,' Martha nervously sat herself down, 'What is it this time, papped outside a sex toy store again?'

'EWW!' Alexis grimaced, Kate laughing loudly from the other side of the couch, 'No! God! Why do you have to keep on bringing up one of the most mortifying weeks of my life?'

'Because I love teasing you honey,' Martha laughed, 'Now what has my two favourite woman curled up on the sofa at four in the afternoon?'

'This,' Kate produced the ultrasound, slipping it into the grandmother's hands. Martha froze, her head slowly turning between Kate and the ultrasound.

'Really?' Kate nodded, cursing her emotional state when Martha's chin started wobbling, 'Oh Katherine... Oh wow...' Martha turned and pulled Kate into an embrace that had both women quietly weeping, Alexis sniffling dangerously beside them, 'She'd be so proud sweetie,' Martha whispered, Kate's hold on her emotions crumbling, 'And so amazingly happy for you right now!'

Sobbing quietly, Kate sensed Alexis moving around her grandmother, the redhead's slender arm wrapping over her back as she joined the embrace.

* * *

'He's on his way up,' Kate placed her phone on the coffee table, her hand shaking, 'Are you sure you want to do it like this Lex?'

'Any excuse to freak my father out, I'm taking,' Alexis grinned widely, 'Unless you just want to do it simple and just tell him straight?'

'I enjoy torturing your father as well,' Kate winced at the double meaning to her words, Alexis' blush showing that the redhead had also cottoned onto the unintentional innuendo, 'I didn't mean...'

'I'm so sorry I'm late!' Rick burst into the loft, dropping his jacket over the rack and striding across the room to give his wife a kiss, 'Is everything okay?'

'Daddy,' Alexis fell back on all the times she'd watched her Grams work, 'I... I need to tell you something.'

'Pumpkin?' Rick frowned, perching himself next to Kate on the couch, his mother sat with her arms around her granddaughter on the opposite couch, 'What's wrong?'

'I.. Um...' Alexis kept her gaze on her hands so to keep the ruse going, 'I've not felt great in the last few weeks and Grams convinced me to go see a doctor today,' She heard Rick gulp, his hand grabbing Kate's.

'What is it?' Rick whispered, his voice wobbling nervously.

'They found this on a scan Rick,' Kate handed over her ultrasound. Rick took the small square of paper and frowned.

'Pregnant?' Rick gulped, his shocked eyes darting between the three woman, 'But... How?'

'Richard,' Martha huffed, 'You know exactly how.'

'Not what I meant,' Rick rolled his eyes, 'And you know it mother.'

'Dad,' Alexis gulped, 'Look at the scan.'

'Oh shit,' Rick gulped, his eyes scanning the image in his hand, 'It's not twins...please tell me it's not...'

It was blatantly obvious when Rick saw through the ruse. His entire body went rock still, his eye twitching and his jaw clicking as it dropped. Lifting her head, Alexis grinned at Kate, the young woman starting to jiggle as she waited for her father to speak.

'This... Ah... This says Castle, K,' Rick stammered, 'Not Castle, A.'

'It does,' Kate nodded, her nerves flooding her voice.

'Kate...' Rick gasped, 'Are you...?'

'Seven weeks,' Kate's smile melting at the sight of the tears spilling down her husband's cheeks, 'Rick?'

'Good tears Kate!' Rick furiously wiped at his face, 'So freaking amazingly good tears!'

'The doctor said they couldn't see any issues with the baby,' Kate pointed to the blob on the paper, 'it's still early, but they say the signs are good that we have a healthy child in here,' Kate moved one of Rick's hands to her stomach.

'Wow,' Rick choked out. Throwing his arms around his wife, he let out a laugh, 'oh God! We need to start telling everyone!'

'We,' Kate hummed into his neck, 'We kinda have already. I told my dad, then Alexis. We then told Lanie and had the boys gate crash, and we told your mother a couple of hours ago.'

'So I'm the last to know?' Rick pouted.

'Saved the best till last Dad!' Alexis giggled, the redhead snuggled against her grandmother.

'Flattery will get you everywhere Pumpkin,' Rick grinned as Kate laughed, 'I'm guessing that's why there's the flurry of missed calls from you around midday and the 'everything's okay' text a little later?'

'I was hoping Gina had allowed you to keep your phone this time,' Kate rolled her eyes, 'Let me guess, Angry Birds again?'

'Level 42!' Rick exclaimed, 'Can't get past the damned thing. I can take down three of the four pigs, but I run out of birds for the last one.'

'Rick...' Kate laughed, shaking her head.

'This calls for a celebration!' Martha threw her hands in the air and hurried into the kitchen.

'Grams?' Alexis threw Kate a wide grin before she shot after her grandmother, concern on her face, 'Kate's pregnant, she can't have alcohol!'

'Kate?' Rick whispered, his hand reaching out to grasp hers while his eyes memorised every pixel before her, 'Thank you.'

'You did half the work,' Kate smirked, Rick bringing her hand up to kiss, 'But I should be thanking you.'

'You can thank each other later in private!' Martha returned with a large cake, Alexis shuddering behind her, 'I was going past Fredrico's bakery earlier and I just had to buy a large chocolate cake. I don't know why I had the urge, but I'm happy I did.'

'Oh!' Kate blushed when her stomach loudly announced it's pleasure at the sight before her.

* * *

Rick lay on his side on the hospital bed, Kate mirroring him inches away. Neither Castle had eyes for the other, but for the squirming little body between them. Elaine Castle had made her arrival in typical Castle fashion.

Two weeks before her due date, Kate had insisted on attending the launch of another Nikki Heat book. Despite all the worries and concerns, Kate had looked amazing on the red carpet and sat through the speech Rick had to make. Just as he had revealed that Black Pawn had commissioned another three Heat books, Kate had doubled over in pain.

No one was quite sure how it happened, but everyone could agree that there had been a lot of screaming and shouting (mostly from Rick) as Javi had raced to the hospital, a nearby cruiser being 'Borrowed' to ensure a quick arrival.

3:38am Elaine's first scream smashed into the world, an exhausted Kate managing barely a few minutes before she had succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.

'She's amazing Rick!' Kate whispered in awe, Elaine's fingers wrapped around her little finger.

'Of course she is,' Rick's hand cupped her tiny chest, her heartbeat thumping into his palm, 'She has you as a mother.'

'I'm a mom,' Kate gasped, 'How did that happen?'

'You eventually fell victim to my ruggedly handsome face and realised just how madly in love with me you were,' Rick grinned at his new daughter, 'And the rest is history.

'I'm so sorry Elaine,' Kate's heart skipped a beat when her daughter's eyes turned to her, 'Your daddy is a delusional madman.'

Alexis leant against the wall just outside the room, a beaming grin on her face, 'But we love him anyway?'

'That we do Lex,' Kate giggled while Rick pouted, 'There should be enough room for you up here Sweetie.'

Placing her bouquet of flowers on the nearby table, Alexis kicked off her shoes and joined the rest of her family on the bed, her attention immediately taken by the yawning newborn.


End file.
